There has recently been a lot of buzz about Startup Canada, a volunteer-led Canadian organization that is creating a national movement of celebrating, promoting and supporting entrepreneurship across Canada. Startup Canada’s ambition is to shed light on Canadian entrepreneurship and to work with community members to foster innovation and provide the support that entrepreneurs need.

But how is Startup Canada taking it to a national level?

They’re spending seven months touring across each province to determine the challenges facing entrepreneurs across Canada. They’re also bringing awareness to various community partners, like MaRS, by providing an additional online platform showcasing over 250 Canadian entrepreneurs and engaging 25,000 Canadians in over 130 events.

Of these events, their signature town halls keep with their grassroots effort by enabling local entrepreneurs to come together to develop action plans and solutions to issues that they face in their communities.

Startup Canada kicked off their tour in Nova Scotia in March and held an official national launch on May 2 in Ottawa. The excitement around their initiative was felt throughout the day’s events with over 450 attendees and the support of many government officials, including John Baird and Stephen Harper.

After a visit to Prince Edward Island, they will be heading back to Ontario over the next two weeks, and then again in September. They will be visiting MaRS on May 18 to meet with our entrepreneurs and advisors.

Their Ontario tour schedule is as follows:

May 2: Ottawa national launch

May 14 and 15: Toronto

May 16 and 17: Waterloo

May 18: Toronto

May 22 and 23: Windsor

May 24: Markham and York Region

September 3 and 4: Sudbury

September 5: Kingston

September 6 and 7: Ottawa

For more information on Startup Canada, including town halls in your area and how to get involved, visit their website at www.startupcan.ca. You can also follow their Twitter updates along the tour at @startup_canada.

Amrutha Simon

Amrutha works with MaRS Media to deliver high quality digital assets to clients for their marketing and business needs. Previously she was the Senior Program Associate for the Business Acceleration Program and provided support to entrepreneurs through the Regional Innovation Centres in the ONE network. She is also the Chair of the MaRS Social Committee and leads the team on organizing various events for MaRS staff. See more…